Post by RManske2 on Feb 6, 2011 15:35:16 GMT -5
Day 51: Suns 108 - Spurs 103[/b]
Coming off embarrassing losses in back-to-back days, San Antonio stayed out on the road for their second game of a four game road trip. On this evening, the team landed in the Valley of the Sun to take on a tough Phoenix squad. Perhaps feeling the effect of the losses the prior two days, the Spurs came out flat as the Suns jumped out to a 29-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. While the road team tried to make a comeback in the second half, it was not enough as the Suns held on for the win sending the Spurs further down the standings. In the loss, San Antonio was led by Mike Bibby as he lead the team with 23 points and 14 assists, but perhaps even more impressive was the fact he did not turn the ball over. In the win, the Suns featured a balanced attack with five players posting between 12-20 points with guard Gilbert Arenas leading the team in scoring.
Day 53: Magic 116 - Spurs 84[/b]
The good news for the Spurs were that they had a day off before taking the court again in Orlando. The bad news for the team though was that it did not make any difference as they were promptly ran out of the arena. In what could be classified as a dismal defensive effort, San Antonio gave up 68 first half points and had no answer for Orlando's perimeter game as Peja Stojakovic and Dan Dickau combined for 56 points. Providing the interior game was Jahidi White (really!?) with a near triple-double featuring 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 blocks. Perhaps the sole bright spot for the defeated Spurs was the play of Emeka Okafor with his 30 points and 17 rebounds. However, this is even questionable as he did take 28 field goal attempts to get to his 30 points and turned the ball over 8 times.
Day 55: Cavaliers 114 - Spurs 90[/b]
With the losses continuing to mount and the media questioning the trade of Grant Hill, the team hoped to finish this road trip on a positive note as they made their one trip on the year to Cleveland to face off against the Cavaliers. The bad news for San Antonio fans was that this game looked very similar to the effort against the Magic as the team gave up 65 first half points and had not answers for a Cleveland squad that could put anyone in the game and post numbers. While Mike Bibby and Emeka Okafor combined for 59 points, the bad news for San Antonio was that nobody else showed up to break double-digit scoring. Following the game, the Spurs coaching staff were very complimentary of Cleveland rookie Rajon Rondo as he was able to run his team efficiently and effectively finishing with a double-double of 13 points and 13 assists in 36 minutes of action.
Day 56: Timberwolves 107 - Spurs 89[/b]
Following the beating they took on the road, the Spurs returned to the Alamo City with the hopes of getting back on track and snapping their recent losing streak. However, this would not be an easy task as the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the elite teams in the league, came calling. While San Antonio were able to keep from being blown out in the first half, the visiting team used their depth to wear down their opponent and earn the victory as they featured six players in double figures being led by Raef Lafrentz's 20 points and 14 rebounds as he was able to take advantage of Andrew Bynum's absence due to injury. In a matchup with superstar and likely Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, Emeka Okafor was able to show that his came has progressed and is ready to take the next step as he was solid with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocks on the night.
Day 57: Jazz 108 - Spurs 84[/b]
After playing just one home game, the Spurs might have been glad to get out of town again to avoid being booed out of the arena and entire state with their level of play recently. Getting back on the plane to collect some more frequent flier miles, the team touched down in Salt Lake City for a divisional matchup against the Utah Jazz. After giving their fans a brief glimpse of hope by playing to a 19-19 tie at the end of the first quarter, the glimmer disappeared as the Jazz kicked things into gear by pulling away with a 29-17 second quarter performance and maintaining this intensity into the second half. This was a matchup that saw both back courts play well as San Antonio's duo of Mike Bibby and Delonte West combined for 50 points and Utah's combo of Randy Foye and Dajuan Wagner combined for 47 points. While the backcourts balanced each other out, the game was decided in the frontcourt as the Jazz had two of their fowards in double figure scoring and the visiting team did not have anyone else that broke the 10 point mark.
Day 58: Kings 100 - Spurs 94[/b]
With the losses continuing to add up in a hurry and tension within the locker room increasing, the team boarded the plane and left Salt Lake and headed to Sacramento for a battle with the Kings. While San Antonio showed some signs of life in this game that featured lots of momentum shifts, they were still unable to break the losing streak as the home team capitalized on a 36-22 second quarter performance to take the lead and hold on the rest of the way. While no one individual dominated the game, both teams got balanced contributions from their respective teams as Sacramento was led by Josh Smith's 23 points and rookie Brandon Roy going to an all-around effort of 18 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. In defeat, once again, the Spurs were led by Emeka Okafor as he was able to collect player of the game honors with his performance of 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 40 minutes of action.
Day 59: Spurs 106 - Hawks 87[/b]
Riding an 8-game losing streak that all but has crushed the team's hope for a playoff birth this year, the Spurs returned home with the hope of finishing the first half of this season by breaking the losing streak against a visiting Atlanta Hawks squad. Perhaps feeding off the crowd to get motivated, being tired of being bashed in the media, or the coach's pregame reading of the riot act, the Spurs came out and established an early lead and kept up this level of play and effectively put the game away with a 30-17 third quarter performance. In a game that features a pair of quality point guards, both Mike Bibby and Steve Francis led their respective squads. While in defeat, Francis led his team with 21 points and 11 assists but San Antonio's Bibby was up to the task by leading his team with a game high 32 points to go with 11 assists. In addition to Bibby, the Spurs were able to get some offensive balance as each member of the starting lineup was able to score in double figures for the first time in quite a while. Whether this was a glimpse of hope for the second half of the season remains to be seen.
Coming off embarrassing losses in back-to-back days, San Antonio stayed out on the road for their second game of a four game road trip. On this evening, the team landed in the Valley of the Sun to take on a tough Phoenix squad. Perhaps feeling the effect of the losses the prior two days, the Spurs came out flat as the Suns jumped out to a 29-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. While the road team tried to make a comeback in the second half, it was not enough as the Suns held on for the win sending the Spurs further down the standings. In the loss, San Antonio was led by Mike Bibby as he lead the team with 23 points and 14 assists, but perhaps even more impressive was the fact he did not turn the ball over. In the win, the Suns featured a balanced attack with five players posting between 12-20 points with guard Gilbert Arenas leading the team in scoring.
Day 53: Magic 116 - Spurs 84[/b]
The good news for the Spurs were that they had a day off before taking the court again in Orlando. The bad news for the team though was that it did not make any difference as they were promptly ran out of the arena. In what could be classified as a dismal defensive effort, San Antonio gave up 68 first half points and had no answer for Orlando's perimeter game as Peja Stojakovic and Dan Dickau combined for 56 points. Providing the interior game was Jahidi White (really!?) with a near triple-double featuring 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 blocks. Perhaps the sole bright spot for the defeated Spurs was the play of Emeka Okafor with his 30 points and 17 rebounds. However, this is even questionable as he did take 28 field goal attempts to get to his 30 points and turned the ball over 8 times.
Day 55: Cavaliers 114 - Spurs 90[/b]
With the losses continuing to mount and the media questioning the trade of Grant Hill, the team hoped to finish this road trip on a positive note as they made their one trip on the year to Cleveland to face off against the Cavaliers. The bad news for San Antonio fans was that this game looked very similar to the effort against the Magic as the team gave up 65 first half points and had not answers for a Cleveland squad that could put anyone in the game and post numbers. While Mike Bibby and Emeka Okafor combined for 59 points, the bad news for San Antonio was that nobody else showed up to break double-digit scoring. Following the game, the Spurs coaching staff were very complimentary of Cleveland rookie Rajon Rondo as he was able to run his team efficiently and effectively finishing with a double-double of 13 points and 13 assists in 36 minutes of action.
Day 56: Timberwolves 107 - Spurs 89[/b]
Following the beating they took on the road, the Spurs returned to the Alamo City with the hopes of getting back on track and snapping their recent losing streak. However, this would not be an easy task as the Minnesota Timberwolves, one of the elite teams in the league, came calling. While San Antonio were able to keep from being blown out in the first half, the visiting team used their depth to wear down their opponent and earn the victory as they featured six players in double figures being led by Raef Lafrentz's 20 points and 14 rebounds as he was able to take advantage of Andrew Bynum's absence due to injury. In a matchup with superstar and likely Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett, Emeka Okafor was able to show that his came has progressed and is ready to take the next step as he was solid with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 blocks on the night.
Day 57: Jazz 108 - Spurs 84[/b]
After playing just one home game, the Spurs might have been glad to get out of town again to avoid being booed out of the arena and entire state with their level of play recently. Getting back on the plane to collect some more frequent flier miles, the team touched down in Salt Lake City for a divisional matchup against the Utah Jazz. After giving their fans a brief glimpse of hope by playing to a 19-19 tie at the end of the first quarter, the glimmer disappeared as the Jazz kicked things into gear by pulling away with a 29-17 second quarter performance and maintaining this intensity into the second half. This was a matchup that saw both back courts play well as San Antonio's duo of Mike Bibby and Delonte West combined for 50 points and Utah's combo of Randy Foye and Dajuan Wagner combined for 47 points. While the backcourts balanced each other out, the game was decided in the frontcourt as the Jazz had two of their fowards in double figure scoring and the visiting team did not have anyone else that broke the 10 point mark.
Day 58: Kings 100 - Spurs 94[/b]
With the losses continuing to add up in a hurry and tension within the locker room increasing, the team boarded the plane and left Salt Lake and headed to Sacramento for a battle with the Kings. While San Antonio showed some signs of life in this game that featured lots of momentum shifts, they were still unable to break the losing streak as the home team capitalized on a 36-22 second quarter performance to take the lead and hold on the rest of the way. While no one individual dominated the game, both teams got balanced contributions from their respective teams as Sacramento was led by Josh Smith's 23 points and rookie Brandon Roy going to an all-around effort of 18 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. In defeat, once again, the Spurs were led by Emeka Okafor as he was able to collect player of the game honors with his performance of 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 40 minutes of action.
Day 59: Spurs 106 - Hawks 87[/b]
Riding an 8-game losing streak that all but has crushed the team's hope for a playoff birth this year, the Spurs returned home with the hope of finishing the first half of this season by breaking the losing streak against a visiting Atlanta Hawks squad. Perhaps feeding off the crowd to get motivated, being tired of being bashed in the media, or the coach's pregame reading of the riot act, the Spurs came out and established an early lead and kept up this level of play and effectively put the game away with a 30-17 third quarter performance. In a game that features a pair of quality point guards, both Mike Bibby and Steve Francis led their respective squads. While in defeat, Francis led his team with 21 points and 11 assists but San Antonio's Bibby was up to the task by leading his team with a game high 32 points to go with 11 assists. In addition to Bibby, the Spurs were able to get some offensive balance as each member of the starting lineup was able to score in double figures for the first time in quite a while. Whether this was a glimpse of hope for the second half of the season remains to be seen.
